As described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,877,128, filed Apr. 26, 1996, entitled, "CATALYZED LUBRICANT ADDITIVES AND CATALYZED LUBRICANT SYSTEMS DESIGNED TO ACCELERATE THE LUBRICANT BONDING REACTION," which application is incorporated herein by reference, the present state of the arts are defined and illustrated by many disclosures with respect to the composition, formulation, and performance of lubricant additives, lubricant systems containing solid lubricant additives, the composition and formulation of metal coatings, the composition and formulation of catalysts, and the chemistry and performance of lubricants containing solid lubricant additives, all of which bear some relevance to the invention presented herein. Those disclosures employed as references in this patent application are listed hereinafter.
The references, other than United States Patents, are presented as follows:
L. L. Cao, Y. M. Sun, and L. Q. Zheng, "Chemical Structure Characterization of Boundary Lubrication Film Using X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy and Scanning Auger Microprobe Techniques," Wear, 140 (1990), pp. 345-357;
Harold Shaub, John Pandosh, Anne Searle, and Stan Sprague, "Mechanism Studies with Special Boundary Lubricant Chemistry," Society of Automotive Engineers, Paper 952475, 1995;
Hal Shaub, John Pandosh, Anne Searle, Stan Sprague, and Martin Treuhaft, "Engine Durability, Emissions and Fuel Economy Studies with Special Boundary Lubricant Chemistry," Society of Automotive Engineers, Paper 941983, 1994;
Keith Perrin, John Pandosh, Anne Searle, Hal Shaub, and Stan Sprague, "Radioactive Tracer Study of Start-Up Wear Versus Steady-State Wear in a 2.3 Liter Engine," Society of Automotive Engineers, Paper 952474, 1995.
Other useful references are as follows:
Kirk-Othmer, "Concise Encyclopedia of Chemical Technology," John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1985, pp. 37 and 292-297;
Jacqueline I. Kroschwitz, "Concise Encyclopedia of Polymer-Science and Engineering," John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1990, pp. 31-35 and 156-171;
R. E. Banks, B. E. Smart, and J. C. Tatlow, "Organofluorine Chemistry, Principles and Commercial Applications," Plenum Press, 1994, pp. 397-401.
The United States Patent Application and the United States Patents which bear particular relevance or are of significant interest with respect to the present patent application are singled out and are cited. See U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,230,654; 2,510,112; 2,993,567; 3,194,762; 3,247,116; 3,314,889; 3,432,431; 3,493,513; 3,505,229; 3,536,624; 3,567,521; 3,592,700; 3,607,747; 3,636,172; 3,640,859; 3,723,317; 3,806,455; 3,909,431; 3,933,656; 3,969,233; 4,029,870; 4,036,718; 4,052,323; 4,127,491; 4,224,173; 4,252,678; 4,349,444; 4,363,737; 4,405,469; 4,465,607; 4,484,954; 4,500,678; 4,584,116; 4,615,917; 4,657,687; 4,770,797; 4,803,005; 4,834,894; 4,857,492; 4,859,357; 4,888,122; 4,892,669; 5,009,963; 5,160,646; 5,227,081; 5,350,727; 5,373,986; 5,447,896; 5,460,661. All of the above references are incorporated herein by reference.
As described in detail in U.S. Pat. No. 5,877,128, it generally has been established, through preexisting research work performed by others, that certain materials, such as Teflon.RTM. and polytetrafluoroethylene ("PTFE"), which are different designations for the same chemical composition, can be caused to chemically bond to a surface, such as a metallic surface, when exposed at elevated temperatures.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,877,128 teaches that these materials, such as PTFE, can be caused to chemically bond to a surface, such as a metallic surface, at relatively low (e.g., ambient) temperatures and atmospheric pressures, when the reactants are appropriately catalyzed. In a preferred embodiment, the catalysts disclosed comprise a transition metal such as platinum or palladium. U.S. Pat. No. 5,877,128 further discloses such applications as lubricating load-bearing wear surfaces, and non load-bearing applications and applications where "non-stick" properties are being sought, for example cookware surfaces, cling, and stain resistant surfaces, etc.